Proper tabs for open files

[TurkeyMan]

I really miss proper tabs for open files (like VS proper), and the ability to rip a tab out into its own window.

[inakianduaga]

+1

Would it be possible to add tabs through a custom extension? I quickly looked at the docs but didn't seem possible to add that type of functionality with the current API

[bpasero]

Would it be possible to add tabs through a custom extension?

No, this is currently not possible from an extension (see also http://code.visualstudio.com/docs/extensions/our-approach)

[vasumahesh1]

+1

[snehilmodani]

👍

[Xety]

👍

[Nicte]

+1

Tabs are the default way to work even in Visual Studio, to not mention other text editors such as sublime.

[bpasero]

For those that are missing tabs, have you tried using Ctrl+Tab to navigate in the history of opened files?

[snehilmodani]

Yes. But the file remains in the Ctrl+tab context even after closing the file. The experience is not the same as that of Sublime / Atom.

[bpasero]

@snehilmodani right, would it help if the list was showing only what you have in the working files section of the explorer? can you work with the working files list at least?

[snehilmodani]

That would be great!

On a side note: Isn't a layout with file names as tabs more user friendly. It is extensible to having one or more sections of tabs each with their own set of opened files. (Again i am taking Sublime Text as reference here)

[bpasero]

I think having tabs or not is independent from having sections. Today you can open up to 3 editors side by side in VS Code and thus we do have sections. Since we do not have tabs, we do not add multiple files into these sections and you can also not have empty sections (which is a separate UX discussion).

Coming back to Ctrl+Tab: We in the team have always worked without tabs from day one and actually we did not even have the working files view for a long time and in fact not so many people in the team are using it. We found that for us it does not matter that much which file you had open or closed. Our minds are rather thinking about the chronological order of which file we edited last. So when I bring up Ctrl+Tab it will typically show me those files I was in last. I am not really looking at the number of files in there, I am only interested in the Top 5 ones at max. The advantage of this model is that you do not have to manage layouts and tabs at all. The management happens naturally while you navigate between files.

We can add a file picker for working files, but it would be interesting to hear if people can be convinced to use Ctrl+Tab as it is today and learn what the issues are.